Vincent could hold his breath for many minutes, but each time he went down, he became a little more fatigued, and a little less able to hold on. At least the work kept him focused, and allowed him to avoid the nagging temptation to look around. He had before, but there was nothing to see but walls of sheer blackness. He just prayed the kid in the chopper could entice the monster well away and keep it away from him.

He hacked and sawed, using the bolt cutters for a few seconds, and then going back to the blade. He hoped this would be the last time.

The back of his neck tingled, and the urge to turn around came over him again.

*   *   *

Jack felt like he needed to pace, but the angle of the deck made it impossible now. He had to hang onto the railing with one hand, and in the other he held his tracker. The blip was increasing speed and heading straight for them. He found it easier to think of it as nothing more than a small green pulse on a screen, rather than a monstrous super predator that would inevitably drag them down into the pitch black water, and then…

He turned away and looked up to the bridge room. The weak orange glow from the dying bulbs showed several dark silhouettes, the few figures standing motionless. There was only one he recognized – Cate waved down to him, and he smiled and gave her an all-okay sign in return.

Stay cool, we’ll be fine, he tried to project to her. The Coast Guard must have been only about thirty to forty minutes out, maybe just over the horizon now. He tried to cheer himself with the thought, but his logic whispered that their helicopter still wouldn’t make it before the boat was underwater. And even then, it would still take them a good ten minutes to hoist everyone up into the cabin. The Megalodon would be here long before that.

Jack screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to imagine what it would be like to be in the water, waiting his turn, while the massive Megalodon was down in the darkness. He opened his eyes; what would he do? He had no idea, and felt ill all over again.

Jack turned back to the bow; Valery Mironov was using a lighter on a cigarette that Alexi had clamped between his lips. The young man leant towards the billionaire but continued to forensically scan the water. The harpoon cannon had its own backup battery and would retain a charge for a short time after the engine died. But it too, would soon lose power.

He exhaled long and slow, and turned back to the stern. The dark water was just about at the deck line now. He saw it lapping gently just over the side, waiting to crawl forward like a living thing… to create a ramp for its master.